When I first came to Troy last year, I didn’t really know what to expect. It was a brand-new place with brand new people. Having a minor in communications, I was asked to attend a meeting for the major, which I reluctantly did. At the meeting, they spoke about different opportunities on campus, including the Tropolitan. With a little bit of curiosity mixed with a little bit of boredom, I decided I might as well go to the first writer’s meeting that semester.
At that time, I had absolutely no experience with journalism or writing for news. But after I received my first assignment, I had so much fun interviewing people and writing the article that I knew it was something I wanted to spend my time doing for the rest of that semester. I started writing for almost every section of the Trop and found a sense of real satisfaction in trying to report to people about what’s going on around campus in the most captivating and intriguing way possible.
The Tropolitan gave me an outlet to freely practice my writing and communication in a way that I was never able to do before. Eventually, I was also asked to work as the Copy Editor and dedicated my time to becoming equipped for that role (the amount of time I spent battling with the word “host” could seriously be a novel).
Not only have I improved as a writer, but I feel that I have also improved as a person by having the privilege of being able to work with the incredible staff at the Trop, not to mention the professors who guided me along the way.
The thing I’m most grateful for is the community I found of hard-working people who were passionate about their craft. The Trop is full of some of the kindest and most dedicated people you’ll ever meet, and my memories of working with them will be cherished for a long time.
I’m going on to grad school, and I’m excited, don’t get me wrong. But I can’t honestly say that I’m “happy” to leave Troy and its people. It’s bittersweet, for sure, no matter how necessary. Even though I’m leaving, I hope that I made some sort of impact on this school, because it surely has made an impact on me.
Alex T. Arnold, signing off.
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